Living in the USA

Keeping Safe During Winter!

With
temperatures below freezing, SCSUencourages faculty, staff
and students to exercise caution when outdoors. The most common problems are
frostbite and hypothermia. Winter weather can be extremely dangerous,
especially for infants and elderly adults. Infants lose body heat more easily
than adults and they can’t make enough body heat by shivering. Elderly adults
often make less body heat because of a slower metabolism and less physical
activity. We urge you to be aware of weather conditions and to take proper
precautions.

AVOID
FROSTBITE AND HYPOTHERMIA

When exposed to cold temperatures, your body will lose heat
faster than it can be produced. The result is hypothermia, or abnormally low
body temperature. Warnings signs of hypothermia are shivering, exhaustion,
confusion, fumbling hands,memory loss,
slurred speech and drowsiness. Seek medical attention quickly. Hypothermia is
particularly dangerous because a person may not know it is happening and won’t
do anything about it. Frostbite causes a loss of feeling and color in affected
areas. It most often affects the nose, ears, cheeks, chin, fingers or toes.
Frostbite can permanently damage the body, and severe cases can lead to
amputation. The risk of frostbite is increased in people with reduced blood
circulation and among people who are not dressed properly for extremely cold
temperatures. At the first signs of redness or pain in any skin area, get out
of the cold or protect any exposed skin — frostbite may be beginning. A victim
is often unaware of frostbite until someone else points it out because the
frozen tissues are numb. If you detectsymptomsof frostbite, seek medical
care.

If there is frostbite, no sign of hypothermia, and immediate medical care is not
available, proceed as follows:

·Get into a warm room as soon as possible.

·Unless
absolutely necessary, do not walk on frostbitten feet or toes because this
increases the damage.

· Immerse
the affected area in warm water (the temperature should be comfortable to the
touch for unaffected parts of the body). Or, warm the affected area using body
heat. For example, the heat of an armpit can be used to warm frostbitten
fingers.

·Do
not rub the frostbitten area with snow or massage it at all. This can cause
more damage.

·Don’t
use a heating pad, heat lamp, or the heat of a stove, fireplace, or radiator
for warming. Affected areas are numb and can be easily burned.

DRESS
PROPERLY

Be sure the outer layer of
your clothing is tightly woven, preferably wind resistant, to reduce body-heat
loss caused by wind. Wool, silk, or polypropylene inner layers of clothing will
hold more body heat than cotton. Stay dry — wet clothing chills the body
rapidly. Excess perspiration will increase heat loss, so remove extra layers of
clothing whenever you feel too warm. Also, avoid getting gasoline or alcohol on
your skin while de-icing and fueling your car or using a snow blower. These
materials in contact with the skin greatly increase heat loss from the body. Do
not ignore shivering. It’s an important first sign that the body is losing
heat. Persistent shivering is a signal to return indoors.

UNDERSTAND WIND CHILL

The Wind Chill Index is the
temperature your body feels when the air temperature is combined with the wind
speed. When temperatures fall below freezing frostbite can occur in a matter of
minutes. As the speed of the wind increases, it can carry heat away from your body
much more quickly, causing skin temperature to drop. When there are high winds,
serious weather-related health problems are more likely, even when temperatures
are only cool.

CHECK ON OTHERS

When winter weather puts us
in the deep freeze make certain that you take time to check on family, friends
and neighbors who are especially at risk from cold weather hazards: young
children, elderly adults and the chronically ill. Also if you have pets, bring
them inside so they can stay warm too.